Vautier loses 3 points after crash ruled avoidable

IndyCar;-Auto-Racing;-Tristan-Vautier;-Graham-Rahal

Graham Rahal, left, and Tristan Vautier, of France, hit the wall in Turn 3 after colliding during the Pocono IndyCar 500 auto race Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

INDIANAPOLIS — Tristan Vautier lost three points, was fined $10,000 and will miss the first two hours of practice Friday at Sonoma — penalties for taking himself and championship contender Graham Rahal out of the race Sunday at Pocono.

IndyCar officials said Wednesday that Vautier could have avoided contact with Rahal, who is second in the standings. Vautier was put on probation for a similar violation June 27 at Fontana.

Points leader Juan Pablo Montoya was fined $3,000 for making contact with an air hose, his third offence this season. Carlos Munoz was fined $500 for the same infraction. Jack Hawksworth was docked $2,500 for causing a hazardous condition with a loose tire.

Honda lost 20 points for engines that did not reach their 2,500-mile life cycles. Chevrolet leads the manufacturer’s standings 1,429-1,083.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.